Petco does it again

I dont know about any of you, but i've been getting emails from herp people about signing the petition to ban petco from selling live animals.
While I agree that most petcos are pretty shabby, especially for reptiles, I cringe at the idea of trying to ban them--we ban one outlet, doesnt it open the door for support to an all out ban of reptiles?  Sometimes it seems that us reptile people do the most damage to ourselves.  How about a push for education, not a ban.
Dana

another note on Petco..

when i worked there they sent us to other petcos for  "classes' (5 hours of videos) on animals, NEVER once was thier a reptile care video, and even so the other videos were FAR less than satisfactory.

-Melissa

I just want to say that yes, Petco. has problems. Let's look a little closer though. Many of the animals come in to their store in bad and negleted shape. Is that their fault? Maybe they should look for another dealer or better screen what comes in. I'am in no way excusing Petco. for the mistakes they have made or continue to make, but not all the fault is theirs.
I also agree with the many other people who have posted and said that Petco. needs to hire people who actually know something about what they are caring for. A high school student who has never even owned a reptile should definitely not be caring for them. They should also have two people for reptiles. I happen to own 12 lizards, 3 snakes and two toads. To care for them and keep them all healthy, clean and fed is a full time job and I do it alone. With as many animals as Petco. has on a regular basis they need more people caring for them.
I just think that there is better ways to get a store to better their self then slamming it on a message board somewhere(yes they do deserve it sometime). Spend a little time and send your e-mails to Petco. owners and shareholders. Maybe with enough effort and time we could get them to change their ways rather then close them down.
I also want to point out that there is thousands of other pet stores out there that treat their animals just as bad. Because they are small family owned businesses and not a nation wide chain they do not get the medias, or your, attention. Just a little food for thought.

When you only 6 or 7 bucks an hour its can be hard to find experienced people.  Still though, they should have appropriate training.  

As far as being a full time job, if all the petcos are similarly stocked as the two near me, an hour, 2 tops is all that would be needed to take care of the reptiles.  with the way they have them set up it would be very easy to care for them.

As far as banning reptiles from petco, like Dana said, bad idea, if you ban this, it makes it much easier to ban other things.  A precedent of sorts has been set.

Education is the way to go.  Proper training is the way to go.  Talk to the managers, maybe they will allow you to set up a trianing program (doubtful, but its worth a try)

Steve Schindler
Tropical Oasis